A British-built irrigation infrastructure on three major rivers passing through Nagapattinam and Thanjavur districts will be renovated at an estimate of Rs. 90 crore.
The Public Works Department will execute the work under the Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water bodies Restoration and Management (IAMWARM) scheme. The British-built revetments, damaged sluices, regulators and weak banks will be renovated and strengthened so ensure effective management of irrigation supply.
The infrastructure on rivers such as Manjalaru, Veerasozhanaru and Manniyaru will be given a facelift with total strengthening of the revetment. The brick work will all be replaced by concrete structures and the damaged head sluices, regulators and bed dams would be renovated, an official source told The Hindu here on Thursday.
The Manjalaru flowing from Sathanur near Kuttalam accounted for a course of 40 km, with 25 sluices, eight regulators and one bed dam. It had an ayacut of about 50,000 acres. The Manniyaru, with a total course of 60 km from Thanjavur to Nagapattinam, had about 60,000 acres irrigating the fields through 30 sluices, two regulators and one bed dam. The Veerasozhanaru had 50 head sluices, six regulators and eight bed dams. It ran its course for about 50 km.
The source said that the work would facilitate efficient management of water for irrigation. The work would be taken up after the forthcoming monsoon. “As it involves a good part of masonry and civil works, it can be executed only during the non-monsoon season,” the source said.
